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Classical hexameter

Meter
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A six-foot line of classical verse, often dactylic hexameter in Homeric epic.

Detailed Definition
Classical hexameter is the six-foot metrical line foundational to ancient Greek and Latin epic poetry, typically dactylic (– u u) with a spondaic substitution in the fifth foot and a trochaic ending; it provides a stately, flowing rhythm ideal for narrative grandeur, as exemplified in Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid, shaping Western epic tradition.
Example
Example in poetry:
Homer’s Iliad: “Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus”; Virgil’s Aeneid: “I sing of arms and the man”; Ovid’s Metamorphoses opening in dactylic hexameter; Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura — all use six dactylic feet per line.
Additional Notes
Classical hexameter = dactylic hexameter (– uu | – uu | – uu | – uu | – uu | – x); epic standard. Scan carefully—note spondees in first four feet.
Also Known As
Dactylic hexameter Homeric meter epic hexameter classical epic line Glyconic hexameter Hexameter line
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